Dodie Horton On New Taxes: ‘I Pray That We Hold the Line’ [VIDEO]
State Representative Dodie Horton from Haughton talks with 101.7 / 710 KEEL's Robert J Wright and Erin McCarty about the upcoming special legislative session and attempts by Governor John Bel Edwards to raise taxes to solve Louisiana's budget stalemate.
Horton denies Edwards administration claims the fault for the current budget stalemate lies with fiscal conservatives in the House: "Unbelievable is all I can say. Totally unbelievable When will it ever end, when we stop extracting as many tax dollars from the population...when will we ever stop and really fix the broken system that we have?"
Responding to claims by Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne that the ongoing budget troubles are the fault of the Republican dominated legislature, Horton cites antiquated and inefficient state department and programs as the problem: "The Department of Health service delivery model hasn't been updated since it was implemented in the 1930s." She adds that only the Governor can order the DH Secretary to look at the failing programs and adopt best practices and I assure that...that we would save billions."